


The Saga of the Princes of Erebor

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (2012)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, failed saga style, fem!Kili, movie!verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-25 05:50:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/635760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A telling of the life and deeds of the princes of Erebor, and their quest to reconquer the kingdom that was once taken from them.  For, as they know only too well, it is on the sides of the Lonely Mountain that their fate awaits them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> stricly movie!verse, which I believe has to be specified because I would hate for anyone to think I didn't do any proper research. But the chronology for the films is fairly different from that of Tolkien's texts and a choice had to be made.  
> Also, Kili has a lady dwarf, because I just like that idea a lot and why shouldn't it be so?
> 
> Also, not sure yet the pairing will actually happen, or if the chosen style will allow much romance to show, but I'll sure do my best.
> 
> And English isn't my first language and all that, so do not hesitate to point out any mistakes.

The Saga of the Princes of Erebor

 

Thror, son of Dain, was King under the Mountain, in the mighty kingdom of Erebor. His son Thrain was a great warrior who gave the kingdom three heirs: Thorin, Frerin, and Dis. The two boys were as strong as their father, though Frerin died young in battle. As for Dis, she was as fierce as her brothers, and known in all of Erebor for her beauty.

Thror's kingdom was rich, and powerful. Such wealth did not go unnoticed, and one day a Great Worm came from the East. The dragon Smaug the Terrible destroyed and killed many, and the dwarves were forced to leave their homes. Thror and his heirs fought as long as they could, but like those of their people, they eventually fled with the others, for it was their duty to lead their subjects in these dark times.

After a long wandering, Thror lead his people to the hills of Dunland where they settled. Life was never again as magnificent as it had once been in Erebor, but Durin's folk made the best of it. But Thror was not satisfied with this simple life, and after a number of years, he gave away his crown to his son. He then left his people to travel with a single companion. During their journey in Middle Earth, they arrived to the gates of Moria, where he discovered the land of their ancestor had been invaded by goblins, lead by a great white orc, Azog the Defiler.

These news did not please Thror. He called for other dwarvish peoples to come to him, that they may reclaim the land of their ancestors. Dwarves came from all over the land, ready to reclaim their lands. Azog's defilement of the mines of Moria would not go unpunished. There was a great battle, before the gates of Moria, and many a brave dwarf fell. Frerin, the second son of Thrain, was one of the fallen and so was Snorri, husband of Dis. Snorri left behind him two young children, Fili and Kili, the youngest born but a few months before the battle. And King Thror himself, mighty as he had once been, was no match for Azog's monstruous strength. The white orc cut off the king's head while some of his followers captured Thrain, who was never seen again.

But as all seemed lost, Thorin, son of Thrain, rose above the others, and challenged Azog, with but a branch of Oak as his shield. The white orc was defeated, and his troupes retreated. The battle was won, but not the war. The dwarf did not reclaim their mine this time, nor would they before many years.

Like his grandfather and his father before him, Thorin decided to lead his people to a new place, one more welcoming than the hills of Dunland. He chose the Blue Mountains, and there the People of Durin found a new life and a new fortune. It was not the great wealth of Erebor, but once again the dwarves had a land of their own.

But Thorin Oakenshield never forgot the kingdom that had been lost and he swore that the day would come when he would, at last, be King under the Mountain.

 

* * *

 

 

Dis, sister of the king of Durin's Folks, had two children, Fili and Kili. Because their father was dead, she raised them with the help of her brother and of some of her father's friends.

Fili, the elder, was a young and enthusiastic dwarf on whom many hopes rested. Until his uncle married and had children, he was his heir, and should Thorin fall, it would be his duty to care for their people, and look for a way to reconquer their lost kingdom from the dragon. There were some who wanted him to be raised as a warrior, that he may fight for Erebor when the moment came, but his mother refused. Dis wanted her children to be given a chance of a true childhood, for she felt she and her brothers had been denied one.

“They are my children,” she told her brother, “and Fili is my son. I understand that you want an heir to shape to your image, but that will not happen to my son. Find yourself a wife, make her a child, and you will be free to raise that one as you please. But not my son, not Fili.”

“Can you imagine me with a woman, Dis? Let alone married?”

“Not happily so, no. I know who you are, Thorin, I always have. But you are King, not me. It is your duty to perpetuate the line of Durin, not mine, nor my children's. If you want to sacrifice a life for your dreams, let it be your own, not that of my son.”

“You are selfish, Dis,” Thorien admonished her. “Our people need an heir to the throne.”

“Then it is you who is selfish not to produce that heir. So go, brother, find yourself a woman who'll open her thighs for you, and leave my children alone."

At that, Thorin left, blushing from what he claimed to be anger at his sister's improper words. Still, he didn't insist, and never again tried to ask that Fili be given to him to be raised.

The king and his sister remained in bad terms for several years after this conversation, but Dis felt she had won the argument. Indeed, just as she had told him to do, Thorin attempted to court a young lady, then another, but nothing came of it.

With the third one, the king seemed to have more luck. She was a woman of strong character, and with her brother she had taken part in the battle of Moria, where she had slain many a goblin. For many months, it was common to see Thorin walking around with her and her brother, and the three of them were soon known to be the greatest of friends. But tragedy would once again strike the king of Durin's People. His lady-friend and her brother, while on a travel to see family away from the Blue Mountains, were ambushed by goblins and killed. Thorin was devastated, and never again talked of taking a wife after that loss.

As for Dis, she was touched by her brother despair. She allowed him again to see her children, and to call Fili his heir, though she still would not let him be raised by anyone but her.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kili just didn't like the idea of being a smith, even less a goldsmith, but her mother had plans for her.

Fili and Kili were born long after the loss of Erebor, but they knew all there was to know about the lost kingdom. Every day of their lives, they would be told about it. Once they were old enough, they also read about it. Erebor was part of every moment of their young existences, as it was for all the young dwarves born away from it.

Their mother Dis did not approve that passion for the lost kingdom, and tried to ensure that her children had other occupations. It was a difficult thing to do with Fili. He was the heir of king Thorin, and as such, he had to be instructed in politics, diplomacy, commerce, and many other things that a future king needed to know. And though Dis and Thorin did not talk for several years because she did not want her son to follow the steps of their father and grandfather, she always made sure the boy was taught all he would need to know, should Thorin disappear.

It was easier to distract Kili from those dreams of Erebor, or so Dis thought. But her daughter, young as she was, had a mind as strong as her mother's. Once an idea was in her, it wouldn't go away. Kili was only ten when she proclaimed for the first time that she would go and help reclaim Erebor, or die trying. Her mother forbade her even saying again such a thing, but Kili did not listen. She could not meet a new dwarf without tell him or her about her plans to go back to the Lonely Mountain once she would be old enough, and that her brother would come with her.

Dis would have none of this. She did not have the control she wished to have over her son's education, but her daughter was entirely hers. She decided Kili would be a goldsmith, and have as little knowledge of weapons as a dwarf could have. She also forbade that the girl be told any more stories about Erebor, and she took away all books Kili had that told of the Lonely Mountain.

And yet, the girl never changed her mind.

“When are we going back to Erebor,” she asked one day, while Dis was trying to show her how to make a delicate chain. “It has been very long, and I am almost big now. Master Balin says I'll soon be strong enough to have my own ax, so I can fight you know. So, when are we going back?”

“Never,” had coldly answered her mother. “Your uncle might go one day, or he may no, if he knows what is good for him. As for you, you shall never go as long as I have a word to say in it.”

“But mother, it is my fate! I have dreamed of it!”

“And I have dreamed of a daughter who would listen to her mother, yet instead I have you. All dreams cannot come true, and you are too young to think of fate.”

 

This did not please Kili. She was twenty-three, she yearned for adventures and glory, and the reconquest of the lost kingdom was the only way she could think of to obtain both at once. She could not understand why her mother would be opposed to it, why anyone should not wish to risk everything they had for a chance to live again inside the Lonely Mountain. After all, she was too young to have known the times when, truly, Durin's Folks had indeed lost all they had, and she had lived a life too kind to imagine what despair felt like.

The young girl was still very distressed, and she quickly ran to her brother to tell him of their mother's words. Fili was five years older than she was, but she revered him as if he had been thousands of years old. In Kili's eyes, he was the greatest authority that could exist, and especially on matters where she could not or would not trust their mother. As it often happened, Thorin's nephew claimed he was neither surprised nor impressed by the news his sister had brought this time.

“Mother likes it here, and she wants to stay, but not all the adults agree. Uncle says he'll go back and be King under the Mountain someday, or so Master Balin told me. He only needs to wait for the right time to come.”

“I hope we will be grown by then. I want to go and help him fight for our mountain!”

“Forget about it,” her brother grumbled. “It will never happen. Mother and Uncle aren't talking anymore, for one thing, and she doesn't want us to be near him. And because I am the heir, she says I cannot go running into danger. And you just cannot go, because you are a girl.”

This remark made young Kili frown.

“What if I am a girl? Mistress Bofur says only humans would ever think that girls cannot fight as well as boys. And that is true, because there isn't a boy my age that I can't beat. I can even beat you if I want, and I broke little Ori's tooth the other day!”

“Be careful that mother doesn't hear about that, she will be furious. Ori's still a babe, the fight wasn't fair, and you know it. And even if you fight good, be sure that mother will never let you out of here. I heard her say you're too much like Uncle when he was young. So she wants to have you trained to be a good goldsmith, that you might settle here and have lots of babes and give many princes to the family.”

Horrified by such a future, Kili yelled and protested. Young as she was, she had since long decided that no heir would be born of her, not before she had acquired glory for the sake of Erebor.

“I am not a goldsmith, but a warrior,” she said proudly. “I was born to be one, and I will work hard for it. Only the other day, master Balin said I would soon be the best archer he had ever seen among dwarves.”

At these words, Fili only laughed loudly, which his sister did not like at all. She knew only too well that old master Balin too had been laughing when he had talked to her and said she was talented. But she knew also that everyone had to start their journey somewhere, and hers was starting with a bow, and arrows and a target that she had never touched yet. She told as much to Fili, but her brother was not impressed, and only laughed more.

Kili then did the only thing one such as herself could do in such a situation, and she punched her brother in the face.

There was a huge fight between them after this, one which left them with many bruises and a large smile on their faces, as was usual for them. They only stopped when their mother heard them and came to separate them, and that too was the usual way of things, as was their punishment to go and help her clean her forge.

But Kili did not forget her dreams of glory, not even for a second. And that night, as she went to be, she promised herself that she would find a way to meet her uncle Thorin and to ask him to take her with him, the day he would go back to Erebor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the birds are flying back to the Lonely Mountain. It is time to go and defeat Smaug the Terrible but when Thorin called, only ten dwarves answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This WAS going to be about Kili and Fili, but then Thorin came in and stole the show.

Kili's arrow went straight to the center of her target, as was usual. Decades spent training day and night had made her one of the best dwarven archer in the world. Some said that it was not a difficult feat to accomplish, for archery was uncommon enough among dwarves of late, and so it was easy enough to be the best with so little competition. Dis herself, though a loving mother, would often remind the girl that it would have been more impressive had she been the most talented of goldsmiths. Kili, used to hearing such remarks, had long ago learned to be deaf to such people.

For she was sure of herself, and so was Fili, and they both knew that their fate awaited in Erebor. After many a long conversation, and dreams they had shared to understand their meanings, they had decided that destiny had planned for them to go to the lost kingdom. However, even now that their mother and uncle were once again in good terms, they had been told countless times that they would never be allowed to help with a reconquest, as Dis forbade it. But her children were just as stubborn as she was. They had convinced themselves that, since they were so near adulthood, no one would force them to obey their mother should they prove they were perfectly prepared for such a travel.

They had trained hard. Long hours were spent learning about the places they would cross, the plants that killed and those that healed, the creatures that would be enemies and those that might be helpful. They read about heroes of the past that had fought and defeated dragons, sometimes at the cost of their lives. Kili shot thousands of arrows with her bow, while Fili learned to throw knives with a deadly dexterity. They learned to use axes and swords, war hammers and shields, and all their masters said they were quick and eager to learn, and that before long they would be mighty warriors.

Yet their mother still forbade they should ever leave, and their uncle claimed he would not go against Dis's decision.

 

* * *

 

 

Fili was eighty two, Kili was seventy seven, when the first rumors reached the Blue Mountains. There were people who said that birds were returning to the Lonely Mountain, and that this was a sign, the proof that the Great Worm's reign would soon be over. Some dwarves did not trust such stories. They had lived away from Erebor for many years, had lost too much during their life, and they saw no point in risking what they had in the Blue Mountains for the dream of past glory.

Thorin had no such doubts. As soon as he heard of these signs, and had them confirmed by one who could read such things, he sent out a message in the Blue Mountains that he was looking for volunteers. It was time to reclaim their homeland, and for this he would need as many dwarves as would be willing to follow him. Hundreds heard his call. Ten came. And not even ten of the best. Merchant, miners, tinkers and toy makers, the lot of them. A few had seen battle, that was true, but of these, there were some who might have seen too many battles. Balin had been old for as long as Thorin had known him, for one. But that might have been better than young Ori, who had never set a foot away from the Blue Mountains, and was really but a child. But his brothers would not come without him, and he was as eager as them to fight under Thorin's orders.

Eleven was not a great number, not when facing a dragon, not for walking through goblin's territory. But as chance would have it, during a short trip in preparation for his quest, Thorin entered an inn where the wizard Gandalf happened to be.

There is much to say of Gandalf the Grey, and it has been told before by the tellers of great stories, though none of them ever attempted to tell the life of the wizard himself. Some say he is a bringer of bad news, a disturber of the peace, for where he goes, bad things soon follow. Others, and these might be wiser, say that he goes to places where evil will fall, that he might prevent destruction and death. As for Thorin, he knew only that Gandalf was said to be a great wizard, and a wise and honest one as well. He went to his table, and offered to buy him a drink. The old man allowed it, and soon enough Thorin and him found themselves talking of Erebor and of Smaug the Terrible.

“Eleven dwarves isn't much,” Gandalf admitted when the dwarf King told him of that problem, “But I am not sure you need a lot more than that. Thirteen would do perfectly well, if you choose the next ones carefully.”

“Thirteen? Against a Great Worm? Is that a joke?”

“You've had an army against him before, and what good did it do to you? But a small number of men might slip in unnoticed, and catch him in his sleep. Though I expect he knows the smell of dwarves too well to really be surprised. And he has tasted enough men to know them too, and elves...”

“No elves,” Thorin snapped. “Suggest what you want, but I will not accept an elf's help even if it should cost me my life.”

“It is your quest, master dwarf, and your choice. A stupid choice, in my opinion, but it's yours to make, not mine. But as I was going to say, elves wouldn't be very helpful against the dragon either. But maybe... I might have an idea for you, Thorin. I'll have to check a few things first, of course, but who knows? It might turn out well. Yes, I'm sure it will. I will have a fourteenth member for you company, Thorin, and I'll leave it to you to find number twelve and thirteen.”

The dwarf king only grumbled at that.

“Wouldn't it be easier to go with the ones I already have, and you in addition? There are no other dwarves willing to go to Erebor, I already know that, and with a wizard by our side...”

“Believe it or not, master Thorin, I have businesses of my own, and I can get no firm engagement toward you. I will help you, and find you someone whose smell and turn of mind will be unknown to Smaug. I might even travel with you for a while, if I have time, but in the end I cannot promise anything. So find yourself one or two companions to add to the present one, and I'll tell you were to meet me and the burglar I have for you.”

“A burglar?”

The wizard nodded, and refused to say more than that, claiming that he would rather not say too much about it until he was sure of the man.

 

* * *

 

Soon after, Thorin returned to the Blue Mountains. The travel to go there had left him plenty of time to think, and as soon as he arrived, he went to see his sister. But as he soon found out, he was not welcome there, and when she saw him, Dis demanded that he left before he could even say a word.

“I will not have you give any more ideas to my children, Thorin!” she yelled. “I will not let you do to them what our father and our grandfather did to you, to us! Go to Erebor if you want, but you will not take Fili and Kili with you.”

Her anger surprised Thorin. He had indeed come to request that Fili be part of the quest, and he had known Dis would not be easily convinced, but he had not expected to find her already prepared to fight. But the king was stubborn, and he was not one to give up before he had tried all that could be tried.

“You cannot keep them hidden forever,” Thorin said. “Fili will soon be old enough to decide for himself, and...”

“Oh, they already think they are old enough for that. They came to me yesterday and said they would go with you, whether I liked it or not. They told me no one, not even you or me would stop them from going. They are prepared, Thorin. They have packed. They have bought weapons, they have repaired their armors, they are as ready as any of the idiots you have allowed to follow you. You must stop them.”

“You are their mother. If they do not listen to you, would they listen to me?”

“If you talk to them as a king, rather than as a fool with a stupid dream, they will have to!” Dis yelled. “They are all I have, Thorin. I've lost Snorri because of our grandfather's dream, I've lost Frerin because our father failed to be there when his armies needed him. Do not take my children from me. And if not for me, then for our people. You could die on that quest, and so could they. Who will rule if no heirs are left? Will you have us submit to Dain? Have you even thought of that, though?”

“I have. But Erebor...”

“Curse Erebor and all who dream of it! We have our life here, brother. It might not be good enough for you, but it is for most of us, and a good king would not throw that away to satisfy his pride. You have always been a good king for us, Thorin, often a better one than Thror or our father, but if you leave, and if you take my children with you, then you'll be no better than an elf.”

Such words wounded the dwarven king more than any blade could ever have, and for a few moment, he considered the idea of staying. His sister was in the right, and no one in the Blue Mountains would have blamed him for giving up on Erebor. No one would think any less of himself if he made that choice. No one but himself.

“I will not leave our people without guidance, Dis. You are more than capable of ruling them until our kingdom is ours again, or in the event of my death. There are none here who would deny your wisdom and courage.”

“I am wise indeed, certainly more than you, and yet you will not listen to me. But what of the children then?”

Thorin then took a moment to think about his nephew and his niece. They were young, younger than he would have liked, but he had agreed to bring Ori who was younger still, and much less of a warrior than they were. Eleven might have been too little to go after a dragon, the grey wizard had said, but thirteen dwarves would do perfectly.

“I was not much older the first time I saw battle,”the king eventually said. “And Fili and Kili are better trained than I was then.”

“Why not take Fili, and leave Kili here? Would you really take such a young lass on such a journey? There are men and elves and all sorts of foul creatures that would find her pretty. She's not old enough that I would let her wander the mountains alone, and you want me to release her into the wild for a fool's quest?”

“You are the fool here if you think you can separate the children, Dis,” was Thorin's answer. “Sister, I care for them as if they were my own flesh and blood, and perhaps more than if they truly were mine. No harm will befall them and I swear on all I am that I would die protecting them if I ever had to. But you said yourself they have taken their decision already, so what can you do? Will you keep them in your house by force, like a human would do with a daughter, as if they didn't have a will of their own?”

“I could. I should. And maybe I will, if only to prove that there are some in Durin's line that still have some sense. But I shall not give you an answer now. I need to think, and to talk to the children. When I've decided on what will happen, I will let you know. Now go, before I remember just how angry I am.”

Thorin bowed silently, and left. A part of him, small as it was, wished that Dis would not allow her children to follow him, and that they would remain safe, but he knew also that before the end of the journey, he might find that he needed the two young dwarves by his side. And when, after some days, Dis sent Fili and Kili to him, Thorin found he was glad he could count on them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Shire is a rather nice place, there is plenty of beer, and an old friend is met again.

Soon after Fili and Kili were officially allowed to join their uncle’s quest, Thorin received news from Gandalf. He claimed to have made progress in his search for a fourteenth member of the expedition, and invited the dwarf king and his company to join him in a place called the Shire. The king answered that they would be there, and sent the word to his followers, asking them to be at a certain date in the pub Gandalf had indicated, the Green Dragon. As some of them lived some distance away, he thought it easier to have all of them meet there.

But to his advisor Balin and his nephews’ surprise, the dwarven king announced he would not travel with them. He still had hopes to remind his cousin Dain that their homes were neither in the Blue Mountains or the Iron Hills, but rather in Erebor, and that they should march together and fight for their kingdom. For this, he would go a little way North, were they bred quick birds to carry messages from one kingdom to the other. It was the matter of three days, maybe a little more if Dain put any conditions and there were details to be discussed.

“I trust you will watch over the young ones,” Thorin told Balin before leaving. “I am sure I will join you soon enough, and with any luck, we will not need whoever it is that wizard wants us to have.”

The older dwarf, though he had little hope his king’s cousin should change his mind, promised to keep a watchful eye over Fili and Kili, and to make sure the two didn’t find themselves into too much trouble. The two young ones were not thrilled at first to learn there was to be a delay to their quest. They were even less happy to be travelling with one who was the oldest dwarf they had ever seen, and as to going to the Shire, it sounded to them as the most boring thing ever. All they knew of the country was that it was filled with small, silly people called hobbits who ate so much they were too fat to move outside the holes in the ground where they lived. It was at least what was said of them at the time, and no proper dwarf would have ever thought to go near these mindless creatures.

But when they too left their homes some days later, the young dwarves were pleasantly surprised. Balin was a much nicer companion than they had expected, having many stories to tell, and a remarkable ability to tell them. As for the Shire, it was not the strange and backward country they had expected, but a rather jolly place full of good food and good beer. And Fili found it greatly amusing that his sister keep being mistaken for a man, to the great embarrassment of Kili. She was not a dwarven beauty, and was even held as ugly among their people for they said she had the face of an elf, but at least no one before had ever doubted her being female. Still, Balin hinted that it could be to their advantage that only dwarves could tell she was a woman, since not all folks they would meet had good intentions, and this could save her from unwanted attentions, to which she agreed reluctantly.

The hobbit pub where they were to wait for Thorin and his wizard was nice, though not quite use to having dwarves. Which meant they were offered many drinks in exchange for stories and jokes, and more than one bold girl in her tweens tried her chance with Kili, who apparently was rather pleasing to the eye in these parts. But the young dwarf maiden was getting used to being treated as a male, and decided she did not mind much as long as everything remained proper and there was beer for all.

And beer for all there was, in a quantity probably not entirely wise. While Balin was busy asking for news from either Thorin or Gandalf, the young ones had already ordered and finished their drinks, much to the disapprobation of their guardian. The old dwarf sternly reminded them that this was no trip made for pleasure, but the first step of a most important quest, and that they ought to have acted in accordance with the gravity of the situation.

“That’s true enough,” came Fili’s answer. “But there are no monsters in this country, and no dangers of any sort. Chances are high that we’ll die before our home is ours again, so I say we enjoy peace, good food and nice beer while we safely can. I am quite sure it will only help us fight better when the time come, since we’ll have known what true life is like.”

“Beer is not true life, young prince.”

“No, but it is a good start.”

“Then do mind that it remains a start,” Balin admonished him. “We are expected tomorrow night to meet the wizard's man a... a burglar of some sort, it appears. I do hope you will be in a presentable state then, and not two hungover idiots who embarrass their entire line.”

The siblings promised that they would be perfectly fine by then, that two strong adult dwarves like them had nothing to fear from the drinks of such small and soft people.

 

* * *

 

When morning came, the siblings made a promise that they would never again drink with hobbits, for these little creatures had a terrifying talent for it. They also discovered that Balin had left without them, and that it was greatly exaggerating to call such an hour of the day 'morning'. Not easily discouraged, the two young dwarves immediately left, and arrived to the meeting point soon after Balin. They were not very impressed by the small hobbit that welcomed them, and even worried when they learned he was to be their fourteenth companion, but neither said a word. The choice had been made by a wizard, and certainly the small creature must have had hidden qualities.

Soon, the rest of the dwarves arrived with Gandalf. Only Thorin was still missing, though none of them doubted for an instant that he would arrived, in due time. In the meantime, they all had a merry time, drinking and eating, telling stories and jokes. Most of them had never met before, or only briefly, and it was for them the occasion to discover the dwarves who would share their lives for many weeks to come. They were, on the whole, a merry company, and the royal sibling thought that it should be easy to get along with everyone.

To their surprise, Fili and Kili discovered that they were not the youngest of the band. Ori, whom they had known as children, was there too. This angered Fili, who could not see why their uncle had so strongly disagreed to their coming when he had had no such qualms about a child with no training in weapons. But Kili was rather glad to see her childhood friend. They had not met in many years, as Ori had been sent away to learn the art of writing, but she had fond memories of him, and he had grown to become as fine a dwarf as ever was.

It felt as if they had never been apart at all, though they had many things to talk about, news of their families, talents that they had acquired, jokes they had heard, complaints about people telling them they were too young to do anything.

They had a great deal of fun, watching the little hobbit that was to join their company, and both rather enjoyed tormenting him, playing with his plates and cutlery. It was certainly not the most mature thing they had ever done, but as everyone joined the fun, it was of little importance.

“Do you think the little lad will actually come with us, in the end?” Kili asked later, after their burglar-to-be had fainted from fear at the mere mention of the dragon. “I'm surprised uncle even wants to allow it.”

“I bet he'll come,” Ori assured her. “For all the fuss he made, he hasn't really tried to throw us out, and his eyes sparkled when we spoke of the mountain.”

“That was from tears of fear, most likely. But as a point of interest, how much would you be willing to bet?”

“I don't have much. But... one gold coin, and I'd draw your portrait if he's not with us by tomorrow at sunset.”

The idea of being used as a model greatly pleased the young princess, who readily agreed to the bet.

“And if I lose,” she said, “I'll...”

“Let me draw your portrait?” Ori suggested, with a teasing smile.

“Well, if you insist...”

“I do. Well. Unless you don't want to. I would have drawn you anyway, I'm supposed to keep notes on the whole adventure, and that includes a lot of sketching, according to your uncle. But it would be much nicer to do it properly, if you don't mind?”

The tone was rather hopeful, more than was strictly necessary to request a permission to sketch someone's portrait. Though Kili had drunk more beer than usual that night, she was fairly sure the sudden warmth that overcame her was not due entirely to alcohol. Ori, small as he still was, was no longer the child whose tooth she had accidentally knocked out once, but rather a handsome young dwarf who had been deemed brave enough to participate to a hopeless adventure.

“I don't mind you drawing me at all,” she said in the end, hoping their was no blush on her cheeks. “But I rather hope I'll do it as the winner of our little bet. I can't see how the little hobbit could ever be of use to us.”

“Don't judge people on their size, princess. For a hobbit he's rather tall, and I'm sure he may yet surprise us all. I do not believe the wizard would have such faith in him for no reason.”


End file.
